Date: Fri 17-Oct-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

council-police-union

Full Text:

COUNCIL WON'T GET INVOLVED IN POLICE DISPUTE

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

and

STEVE BIGHAM

The Legislative Council will not get involved in the dispute currently taking

place within the Newtown Police Department.

Legislative Council chairman Pierre Rochman made that announcement earlier

this week, saying his board does not typically get involved in police

disputes.

The Newtown Police Union remains unhappy over how Police Chief James E.

Lysaght, Jr, is running the police department. Last month, the union took its

complaints to the town's Police Commission, which refused to take any action

against the chief it had hired the year before.

Last week, the police union sought a different avenue to voice its concerns --

the Legislative Council. In a letter to the council, union members appealed to

its members for assistance, saying something needed to be done in order to

save the department.

"It became obvious as time went on that what we had initially perceived as our

new chief's inexperience in his position was, in actuality, a lack of

knowledge and competence," the union wrote.

The letter went on to chronicle the events that brought the issue to a head

two months ago, including Chief Lysaght's decision to reorganize the

department without notifying the union.

However, Mr Rochman said that because the letter was unsigned, he did not

consider it something for the council to discuss. Also, he said, the council

does not usually get involved in conflicts between the Police Commission and

the union.

"I'm not treating the letter as anything at all," he said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the police department morale continues to be low, according to

Officer Scott Ruszczyk, the police union secretary. However, duty still calls

and officers continue to do their jobs to the best of their ability, he said.

"Low morale would not affect the quality of the job. We could be more

effective, but we're not. We're operating with short shifts," Officer Ruszczyk

said.

Unlike his subordinates, Chief Lysaght has been tight-lipped on the dispute,

saying he did not want to play the issue out in the press.

In a past interview, Chief Lysaght said, "I just have to do the best job I

possibly can," he said.

"Many problems existed before I came here and there's no way they're going to

go away within a year," he said, noting that it takes between five and seven

years to improve the overall functioning of a police department.

"I can't change things on a dime. It takes time, and we are doing that," he

said.

Mr Ruszczyk said police union representatives will no longer meet with a

committee comprised of two Police Commission members to resolve differences

between the union and the chief.

"We've been told by the commission members that we have no legitimate issues

and unfortunately we had one meeting where the commission was supposed to

mediate between the union and the chief," officer Ruszczyk said. "All they did

was side with the chief. Therefore we're going to whomever will listen."

At a recent session attended by union representatives and committee members,

committee members backed Chief Lysaght on every complaint made about him by

the union, Mr Ruszczyk said.

Committee members sought to "circle the wagons" around the chief, according to

Mr Ruszczyk. "They hired him, so for them to admit he isn't qualified means

they'd have to admit they made a mistake. They're not going to do that," he

said.

A "Tarnished" Union Image

Police Commission member Bob Connor sees things differently. The eight-year

member of the board said these new complaints are almost identical to those

made by the union two years ago against then-chief Michael DeJoseph. Mr Connor

said the Police Commission thought they had put this "union thing" to rest

until it resurfaced again over the summer.

"The chief has only been here a little over a year," Mr Connor said. "I don't

think things would be much different no matter who was in there [as chief].

Just to say, after a year, that they want him out of there is ridiculous."

Mr Connor said he is disgusted with the entire issue and has found that the

public has become somewhat irritated with the actions of the police union.

"They've tarnished their image with the public," he said.

Union representatives, however, say they were forced into this rash behavior

by a chief who sought to incite them.

Last month, union members conducted a vote of confidence in Chief Lysaght

concerning his management style, treatment of officers, spending history, and

proposed plans for change in the department. Union members voted 29-to-1 that

they had "no confidence" in the chief. Two members abstained and two members

were not asked to vote.

The vote came after the Police Commission and the chief acted to reorganize

the police department without first informing the union of the plans to do so.

Union members filed a labor grievance over the reorganization plan.

Police Commission chairman William Meyer was out of the country this week and

unavailable for comment.

Evaluations

The police union charges that Chief Lysaght is not performing as well as he

should as head of the department. To illustrate its viewpoint, the union

provided copies of two job evaluations on the chief which were performed since

he took office in July 1996.

In its first evaluation done in January 1997, the commission states: "There

has been a noted improvement in the morale and esprit de corps of the

department. Evidence of this is the lack of union grievances... Newtown is

fortunate to have a person of his caliber as its chief of police... (He)

offers many ideas for the improvement of the department and the facilities...

(He) takes `hands on' approach. (We) have seen signs that he will delegate

more (authority) in the future... (He) shows excellent ability to handle

administrative operational problems... (He) works hard to get the job done."

In the January evaluation, the commission added that Chief Lysaght "stands

out" in the area of leadership ability.

In that evaluation, the commission asked the chief to prepare a department

organizational plan.

In a second job evaluation performed on Chief Lysaght on August 18, the Police

Commission found that the chief "achieves requirements" in the area of serving

and protecting town residents, but is "below expectations" in the areas of

administration, manpower development, the delegation of authority, and police

training. The five grades in ranking performance in those areas specified on

the Police Commission evaluation form are: outstanding; exceeds requirements;

achieves requirements; below expectations; and marginal.

In that evaluation, the Police Commission states "Chief Lysaght seems to have

a problem in transitioning from a city (Bristol) with three times the

population (with much less geographical) area... He works hard to accomplish

his tasks, at times doing the work his subordinates should be tasked with.

(He) needs to delegate (authority) and follow-up more, while focusing on the

goals mutually established. There has been a noted increase in the

productivity of the patrol officers."

In the evaluation, Chairman William Meyer, on behalf of the commission, wrote

that the chief needs to improve the overall productivity of supervisors and

administrative staff, needs to set priorities, and should understand the cost

constraints of the community better.

The commission compliments the chief on his written and oral communications

skills.

The commission adds the chief appears to have a problem in delegating

authority to his subordinates. The chief works long hours to accomplish tasks

and should get more help from his subordinates, according to the commission.

"With the organization going through changes, molding a cohesive work group is

a never-ending struggle, especially with a union. Improvement in the area is

anticipated in the near future," the commission stated.

The major goals set for the chief in the coming months set by the commission

in it latest evaluation are "Listen" and "Focus on priorities."

In a past interview, Mr Meyer declined to specifically comment on Chief

Lysaght's job performance, adding that the Police Commission will seek to

resolve differences between the union and the chief.

Police Commission discussions with Chief Lysaght on his job performance are

conducted in closed-door sessions.

Mr Ruszczyk has claimed Chief Lysaght violates the department's policies and

procedures and also misinterprets the union's labor contract in running the

department. Mr Ruszczyk alleges there is marked favoritism in the police

department with some officers being treated very well and others not treated

well by the chief.